


as the sun fills the blue sky

by towokuwusatsuwu



Category: Kamen Rider Ghost
Genre: F/F, Introspection, Multi, Pining, Romantic Fluff, Science Girlfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 13:24:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11715261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towokuwusatsuwu/pseuds/towokuwusatsuwu
Summary: Akari Tsukimura comes to the Ganma world to give them a chance at a better life and in the process finds she might have a chance of her own.





	as the sun fills the blue sky

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TaJaDorPorn1227](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaJaDorPorn1227/gifts).



Akari Tsukimura likes to help people, and she likes science, and as far as she is concerned the two belong hand-in-hand. This more than anything else explains why she finds herself kneeling beneath a foreboding claret sky, murmuring calculations to herself as she prepares to test if her new machine will be able to purify the Ganma atmosphere. Her tests have been successful, but widescale change can be difficult at best, and she knows that better than anyone.

Still, she persists. Her hair, far longer now than it had been when all of this began, is pinned back out of her face so as not to hinder her vision. Her fingers know this machine better than anything else; her blood and sweat and tears have gone into this piece of work.

“Akari?” Takeru crouches next to her, arms wrapped around his knees. “How’s it going?”

It takes her physical effort to tear her gaze away, to redirect her brain to addressing her friend’s concerned expression. Of course Takeru is worried about her; she’s been throwing herself into this work as much as possible in an effort to help the Ganma. After all, Takeru had done his part in freeing them from their horrifying views, but Akari knows as well as anyone else that none of them will survive in this atmosphere for long. Humans weren’t made to live like this.

“Fine,” she says, and manages a small smile. “How are the others doing? Everyone okay?”

Takeru nods at her, resting his chin on top of his knees, and Akari offers him a gentle pat on the shoulder before she returns to her work. Every single piece of this has been tested and tested again until she was sure there were no more mistakes to be made, until every last detail had been ironed out. Now, though, she’s worried. She has a right to be, considering how much rides on this success, how many lives are resting in the palms of her hands, but she had promised Takeru, and the Ganma, and more importantly, their  _ queen, _ that she would pull this off.

So she has to succeed. There are no other options. For the Ganma, for her friends, for herself… She has to succeed, and there is no room for failure. Akari has to succeed. “I think we’re ready to try,” she tells Takeru, who perks up, leaning forward onto his knees. “Are you ready?”

He flashes her his usual smile, radiating a glow brighter than the sun even in this bloodstained world. “I am,” he says with a quick nod, almost bouncing. “I know you can do it, Akari.”

Akari gives Takeru a one-armed hug, a small token to show him that she appreciates him— his boundless optimism and his faith in the people he loves— before turning back to her work. She runs a last check on everything, because better safe than sorry by her standards, before she gives herself a small, jerky nod. Everything is in place, every last piece of her equipment in peak condition, everything set to hopefully save the Ganma atmosphere once and for all.

“Okay.” Akari takes a deep breath to steady herself, then sets her hands on the controls, her movements easy and controlled just like she’s practiced dozens of times before now. “Let’s see if all of this hard work finally pays off. Takeru, keep an eye on the sky for me.”

Takeru stands and tilts his head back, and Akari spares him a small smile before turning back to the controls. It takes very few movements to set everything in motion, the machine whirring to life, humming and vibrating, and Akari can’t bring herself to look up at the sky. Everything should be in working order, and it had worked well enough back in her world, but this is different, and there is so much more riding on this. The Ganma world has been like this for over a hundred years as far as she knows.

“Akari!” Takeru’s excited voice and his hand on her shoulder, shaking gentle, is what convinces her to tilt her head back, staring up at the expanse of sky rapidly lightening above their heads. “Akari, it’s working! You did it!”

Akari exhales slowly and drops her head into her hands. She did it.

* * *

“You saved all of us, you know. Our way of life, our world, our second chance at building a civilization out of ruins.” Alia’s smile is warm. “We owe you just as much as we owe Takeru.”

“I don’t know about that.” Akari usually has more confidence in herself than this, but she finds herself fidgeting with her sleeves as she gazes out of the window that Alia has led her to, at the people below, finally happy and healthy. “I just did my part. We all had a part to do, after all.”

She can pick out familiar figures in the crowd because her friends stand out against the white robes of the Ganma. Takeru is with a group of a children, and though she can’t hear what he says, she can see the children laughing and smiling with him. Makoto stands farther away, and if Akari’s eyes aren’t betraying her, she thinks she sees his doppelganger with him, the stark difference in their clothing the easiest way to tell them apart. Now that all is said and done, his doppelganger has returned to Ganma clothing, far different than Makoto’s signature leather.

Next to her, Alia shifts, leaning out of the window, her hands resting on the smooth stone, and Akari tries to follow her gaze to see where she is looking. It isn’t hard to find the source of her attention, not when Alia has lost so much, has lost both of her parents and nearly lost both of her brothers— and herself— in Adel’s mad desire to absorb everything into himself. But Alain and Adel are fine, and alive, because Takeru would never do less than everything within his power to save someone. The brothers are among their people, helping to rebuild, and when Akari looks back to Alia once more, she isn’t surprised to see the Ganma queen smiling.

“You owe Takeru way more than you owe me. He gave you back your family, and that’s…” Akari trails off, not sure where she’s going with her words, not sure what she means, but the slender eyebrow Alia raises at her makes her frown. “What? He put his life on the line, multiple times, and I don’t know… I just think that merits a little bit more praise in the end.”

“It would have been for nothing if we couldn’t improve our living conditions here in our own world. After all, what would we do if we had to breathe in poison? How long would we have lasted? The humans in your world suffered greatly, after all.” Alia steps closer to her and Akari feels uncomfortably warm, is uncomfortably aware of her own body within this small proximity. And then Alia rests her hands on Akari’s shoulders. “You helped Takeru. You are both wonderful.”

When Alia moves away from her and returns to the window, Akari allows herself a small, private moment to sag against the wall behind her, seeking some strength from the ancient structure. She thought she would be over this by now. Evidently, that just isn’t true.

* * *

“Akari-san?” The man kneeling at the base of the tree cocks his head up at her, dark hair falling into his eyes as he does. “Can I help you with something?”

Akari shakes her head, sinking down with her back to the tree. “No, I’m fine. Um…”

She stops, staring at his face, wide-eyed, because she knows he has a name now, she  _ knows _ that someone gave him a name, but she can’t for the life of her remember what it is.

“Kotoma,” he offers helpfully, and his kind smile is… Different from Makoto’s.

“I’m sorry for not remembering, I’m usually better with names but it’s been a stressful few days. Kotoma. Kanon gave you that name.” Of course she did, rearranging the letters of her beloved older brother’s name because she loves them both with all of her heart. The thought makes Akari smile. “I just needed somewhere quiet to sit and think about something.”

Kotoma nods, plucking a weed out of the ground. “You’re thinking about Alia-sama.”

She starts, her head jerking around in his direction. “How did you know about that?”

Kotoma pauses, twirling the half-dead plant stalk between his slender fingers. “We aren’t so different in this regard, you and I,” he finally says. “I couldn’t help but notice that.”

“I’m not sure I know what you mean. What makes us similar?” She doesn’t want to insult him by saying they aren’t, especially when she has no idea what he means.

Instead of answering with words, Kotoma nods his head forward once, and Akari turns to see Adel and Alain with a group of men, doing what they can to cultivate the earth. She isn’t sure which brother he means, but she knows he means one of them— maybe both, because he and Makoto are connected, and Makoto has loved Alain ever since Akari met him once again.

“You’re right,” she says, pulling a knee against her chest, stretching her other leg out. With the air clean, the breeze that ruffles her hair and lifts the ends is refreshing and soothing instead of suffocating. “We are the same in that regard. Are you ever going to tell him how you feel?”

“We all have a long way to go for this to truly be a home again. I think I’ll wait until the time is right.” Kotoma curls a hand beneath his chin, studying her face. “What about you?”

“She’s… I mean, Alia is… She’s amazing, you know, she’s so regal, she has herself perfectly in control of everything even though she never expected to be queen…” Akari shakes her head, running a hand through her hair. “But it’s just that. She’s a queen here. And I’m just a scientist.”

Kotoma shakes his head at her, his smile soft and amused. “Ah, but Makoto wasn’t even that, and yet Alain loves him. And Alain loves Takeru, who is also not royalty.”

It’s different, of this much Akari is certain. The situation is not the same, and well, Makoto has known Alain for years and Takeru might as well have for as well as the two of them get along. The three of them are a united trio and nothing in this world, or the human world, has been capable of tearing them apart. She barely knows Alia as anything other than the quiet, serene, newly-appointed queen of the Ganma even if they have worked side-by-side to restore order.

“I’ll think about it,” she says instead because Kotoma means well and she doesn’t want to shoot him down or imply he just doesn’t understand. “It’ll just take time, like you said.”

Kotoma seems to think on this for a moment before nodding, adding the weed in his fingers to the growing pile beside of him. “I wish you luck, I truly do. Alia-sama seems to like you.”

Akari bites down hard on her tongue to keep herself from sputtering and pushes herself to her feet, deciding to go find Takeru and Onari to see what the two of them are up to. Shibuya and Narita, as well. She might as well check on all of her friends, find something to do with herself.

_ What about you? _ The question bounces off of the walls of her brain, a puzzle as complicated as any theory left to be tested, as any equation she has to find the answer to. But this isn’t quite as simple as that, not this time. What about her, indeed.

* * *

“I don’t think I understand why he wants to train people into soldiers once again,” Akari admits one afternoon. She and Kanon are taking a break from helping with some children— Akari loves showing them everything scientific possible, and it intrigues them. “He doesn’t really intend to take anyone out to war again, does he? The whole point of this was to achieve peace.”

Kanon shakes her head, and Akari reflects that she looks older, more mature, than she had when Takeru descended down from the Great Eye with her in his arms. “Adel-sama isn’t going to use them to fight,” she says, smoothing down the skirt of her gown. There is something both warm and sad in her eyes when she speaks. “But this is what he knows how to do, and even this kind of training will build strength and stamina. We’ll need that to help rebuild.”

Akari hums, because this makes sense to her, and truth be told she hasn’t seen Adel look as in his element, as confident and in control, as he does right now. She wonders who trained him into a warrior as fierce as he is, and she supposes she could get that answer if she went looking for it. Still, it’s amusing to watch her friends from this distance. Shibuya and Narita have already given up for the day, and Onari’s strength is clearly waning, but Takeru and Makoto have been following Adel’s instruction rigidly. She hopes they never have to fight again just the same.

“Oh,” she says when a familiar figure appears in the courtyard, her shawl blindingly white in the golden sunlight. “I didn’t know Alia had anything to do with the training.”

Again, Kanon shakes her head. “She doesn’t. This is what Adel-sama is best at, but she’s still here to check up on him. She wants to fix things between them the best she can.”

“She’s pretty amazing. I don’t know if I would have been able to pick myself up after everything almost fell apart and then take over as queen. It’s… really impressive.” Akari doesn’t know why words are failing her so badly right now, but they are. They always seem to where Alia is concerned. “How are things between her and Adel? Are they getting along okay?”

“Adel-sama is doing everything in his power to apologize to her,” Kanon confirms with a nod. She turns to Akari with a small, curious smile. “Akari, do you… Like Alia-sama?”

The question makes Akari’s face burn and she pushes herself up, shaking her head. “She’s a good friend,” she says to avoid the implications of that question. “I’m going to get back to work.”

Kanon laughs after her, though not unkindly, and Akari wills herself not to look toward the courtyard. But she does just the same, and she sees Adel and Alia standing close to each other, no doubt discussing… Whatever it is the two of them talk about, and even from the distance, Akari can see them both smiling. The sight is enough to warm her heart.

* * *

When Takeru’s life is fully restored, they have dinner together just like he wants to. Akari doesn’t expect Alia to throw them a small dinner party in the palace under the notion of thanking Takeru for all he did for them, for her people, for her family, for all of them. But Akari is more than happy to come, because any chance to celebrate Takeru’s achievements is a happy one for her.

It feels strange to sit at a table with the Ganma royal family, with Kotoma, and with her own ragtag group of friends, the people she’s easily come to think of as extended family. Takeru sits between Makoto and Alain, and he looks so genuinely warm and happy there, smiling so broadly it must hurt his face. It does a lot for her to see him this happy, this satisfied and content with his life, after how hard all of them worked to restore it. She doesn’t know if she’ll ever have the words to convey how happy she is that her best friend is alive and well.

And truth be told, sitting at a table eating with Adel may never feel less than strange after the sheer lengths he went to in order to take complete control of everything. But he’s noticeably subdued, much more quiet than Akari expects. Unsurprising to her at least, it’s Alia who seems to light up the room, easily leading the conversation at the table, making sure no one runs out of food or drink, making sure all of her guests are comfortable.

“Akari?” Alia must notice her quietness, her hand lighting on Akari’s. “Are you well?”

“I’m fine! Just thinking about a few things, that’s all. Ganma technology is so interesting.” It’s a good cover, and it’s not untrue. Akari has been thinking about their technology a lot recently.

“You’re welcome to explore as much as you want whenever you want. If you need an assistant to help you, we can provide one.” Alia pauses, looking thoughtful, before a strange little smile touches her lips. “I do believe that Igor owes you quite a lot in return for just how troublesome he was, so if you decide you want an assistant in your explorations, I’ll assign him to help you. I do believe that you know the best way to keep him in line, do you not?”

In answer, Akari’s palm twitches, and she can’t help but laugh at the question. “I do, no worries,” she says, taking a sip of her drink. “And I think I’ll take you up on that. There’s so much I could learn from your world, and I want to learn everything I can, and utilize that knowledge.”

“You’ll have to tell me what you discover. I’m very interested in finding out.” Alia sets her fork down, turning her full attention on Akari. “Everything you do seems so fascinating to me.”

Under any other circumstance, the attention would have made it impossible for Akari to get words out. Now, however… “I can explain it to you. You’re the queen, you have a right to know.”

“It’s settled, then. I’ll carve some time out tomorrow so you can show me what you’ve found out so far, and we’ll discuss how to move forward together.” Alia claps her hands, obviously delighted.

Alain cocks his head, lips pursed. “Aneue, I didn’t know you were interested in science.”

“Igor isn’t a very… Welcoming person when it comes to such matters, so asking about them was difficult. Akari is different. She makes everything sound lively and exciting, and she wants to teach people because she enjoys it.” Alia says all of this as though Akari isn’t sitting across the table from her, as if it’s only common sense. “And that makes me want to learn more.”

Before she goes to bed that night, Akari pores over the material she’s gathered on the Ganma world and takes notes in one of her empty notebooks, intent on making everything accessible for Alia to understand. Everything she’s learned so far is beyond interesting to her, a wealth of knowledge still be to explored and utilized in untold ways, and she wants to show Alia this, too. That the beauty of her world isn’t only confined to the blue of the sky and the life of her people. She’s sure that Alia will understand and appreciate it as much as she does.

* * *

Sometimes, the others train in their suits. Akari has sat through these afternoons, curious to see how her friends match up to each other, how they match up against the Ganma.

Takeru is the best, of course, and Makoto and Alain are not far behind, and the three of them pose an interesting challenge to the Ganma that Adel has trained himself. And they pose an interesting challenge to Adel himself, who can keep up with Makoto and Alain but loses traction when it comes to Takeru as soon as his Mugen form is unleashed.

“Are you enjoying the spectacle?” Kotoma asks her one afternoon, dropping down beside her, blowing a few stray strands of hair out of his eyes.

“I always do,” Akari admits, beaming when Takeru lands a successful blow. “They’re amazing.”

“Adel-sama has confined me to training only with him and Gyro until he’s certain he’s done all he can to prepare me for facing Makoto and Takeru.” Kotoma smiles suddenly, wide and bright and wild. “Ah, it looks as though we’re in for a special treat this afternoon. It’s Alia-sama.”

Akari doesn’t quite process what she’s seeing at first because she’s accustomed to associating the Necrom suit with Alain, and even though this one is clearly a vivid pink instead of a bright green, her mind still defaults. But the moment Kotoma speaks, she sits up on her knees, her eyes wide. She’d never known Alia had access to a Necrom form! She had assumed that Alain’s must be the only one considering how Adel’s form is wildly different, but as the pink Necrom comes to stand beside Adel, she realizes that it  _ is _ Alia. She can tell in the way she holds herself, the way she takes her fighting stance. There’s a fierceness just beneath the surface, and Akari barely has time to take in a breath before the two siblings strike, perfectly in sync.

The training session lasts far longer this time. Takeru, Makoto, and Alain are a force unlike anything Akari has ever encountered in her life, a truly unstoppable force when the three of them focus their power together. But Adel and Alia must have trained together for decades, at least it seems so in the smoothness and the synchronicity of their movements.

“I told you,” Kotoma sing-songs from next to her. “This is a special treat.”

Akari can detect no weakness in the defense of the older siblings, and she wonders, distantly, if this is where Adel learned to fight as he does. Just because Alia doesn’t often fight doesn’t mean she lacks the ability; that much is obvious as she easily handles herself against the others.

The battle lasts for painfully long minutes, a stretch of time that seems to grow longer and longer with every kick and punch and blow thrown. It isn’t hard to tell that all five of them are holding back from their full power because that kind of power packs a punch strong enough to deal fatal damage, and there is no malicious intent in any of this. Akari follows every single one of Alia’s movements with her eyes until the five finally stop fighting, all of them breaking their transformations. Without a word, Kotoma rises from his seated position and walks straight to Adel, who takes one step and staggers, clearly out of energy from the battle.

Akari moves to her feet as well, and though she knows she should check on her friends, she walks straight to Alia instead. Makoto seems a little better off than Takeru and Alain this time, wrapping an arm around each of their waists and helping them sit down. He gives Akari a little nod, as if to reassure her that they’re fine, which allows her to take the last few steps that bring her to stand in front of Alia, who merely gives her a small smile.

“I didn’t know you could transform,” she says, not sure what she’s supposed to do with herself now. Unlike the boys, Alia seems to be firmly on her feet. “But that was incredible! You and Adel must have trained together for a long time to be able to fight like that.”

“Thank you. We’ve been improving our teamwork in secret for the last few months, but yes, we used to train together quite often.” Alia glances toward her youngest brother, a small and secret smile playing at her lips. “I was the one who tested the original Necrom to help refine it.”

Akari isn’t surprised. She’s not sure if she’s even supposed to be.

* * *

The evening air is cool on Akari’s bare arms and the back of her neck. She had tied her hair up out of her face so it would stay out of her way during their study session for lack of a better word, the courtyard empty save for the two of them sitting on the grass with her notes.

Alia understands science better than Akari could have hoped for, and she suspects that much like fighting, this might have been something Alia is adept at and simply doesn’t hint at. But she seems interested enough in what Akari has to show her, and she asks questions, and by the time both of them are burnt out, Akari is satisfied with everything she’s been able to teach her.

An unintended bonus of clearing out the red sky for a vivid blue one is the sunsets, the sky streaked with violets and blues and oranges, and in the distance where darkness creeps in, the faint twinkle of stars. It looks so much like the sky of her world, and Akari is startled to learn that she’s started to think of the Ganma world as a second kind of home for them all.

“You’ll have to take me to your world and show me the science there next,” Alia tells her, shrugging off her fur shawl. Her dress beneath is both simple and elegant, just like her, Akari thinks. “Perhaps we can share our culture with each other.”

“I’d like that.” And she means it. Nothing would give her greater pleasure than sharing her world with Alia like Alia has shared the Ganma world with her. “Can you leave, being queen?”

“I suspect I’ll have to leave Alain to babysit since I don’t feel the people would take kindly to Adel being left to watch the throne,” Alia muses, and Akari smiles a little and nods in agreement.

They chat quietly with one another while the sky steadily darkens and the Ganma moon rises, as beautiful and round and shining white as the moon back home. Alia looks unfairly lovelier in the dark, her skin almost glowing against the white of her gown and the darkness of her hair, and Akari feels a familiar twist deep in her gut, one that hasn’t quite gone away since she came here with the intention of helping Alain and his people rebuild their home world.

“Alia…” She stops herself, takes a slow breath. “There’s something I wanted to tell you.”

When Alia turns to look at her, her mouth dries and her throat tightens impossibly. “I’d like to think you can come to me with anything you feel you need to come to me with, Akari.”

“I feel like it’s probably not something you can do anything about. You’re… The queen of the Ganma. Their leader. This is your life now.” Akari gestures around her, to the courtyard, to the palace it’s nestled within, to the world beyond. “And that’s… Serious. You have a serious position here. And I feel like that’s way more important than a stupid crush is.”

She thinks just letting it out like that might have been a mistake, but Alia only chuckles quietly and reaches out to touch her arm. “Akari, I assure you that that is still very important to me.”

“O-oh.” Akari doesn’t know what to say to that. She hadn’t prepared for that response.

“Your consideration of my position is here is admirable, and I understand you think that your feelings for me should be considered less important than the welfare of my people. However.” Alia’s hand drifts from her shoulder to her cheek, her skin so soft and smooth. “You helped to save my people, and you are my dear friend. You saved my brothers, you saved my people, and I assure you that I hold your feelings in very high regard and I keep them close to my heart.”

Akari wets her dry lips and takes a breath and tells herself that she has to speak, now, or risk never having the courage to tell Alia the truth. “It’s admittedly more than just a crush. I’m sure it was just admiration at first, and because you’re so beautiful, but… The more I get to know you, the more I get to see you take care of your people and of your family, I guess somewhere along the way I fell in love with you. And other people had to point it out to me, but it’s still true.”

“I know. I’m sure you tried your best to be as subtle with your feelings as you could be so as not to cause trouble, but I noticed. Because you are my friend, and so I try to keep track of how you feel.” Alia smiles, and the expression arrows between Akari’s ribs and straight into her heart, and suddenly she can’t breathe. “I say friend, but I feel as though you want more from this.”

The thought almost makes her dizzy, and she quickly shakes her head, doing her best not to stammer through this. “I want whatever will make us both happy. I don’t want to push anything on you that you don’t want, and you’re so busy that I’ll understand if you don’t want more.”

“I’ve never experienced what more would be in my very long life, Akari. There has never been anyone who made me want to.” Alia is quiet for a moment, and Akari is very aware of the queen’s hand still on her cheek. “But with you, I want to. If only you’ll let me.”

Akari almost swallows her tongue but manages a smile. “How about we start off slow? With a kiss?”

Having Alia this close to her is something that Akari has wanted, but never dreamed of getting, but she knows how to do this. It’s easy for her, to ease an arm around Alia’s waist, to cradle her cheek as their lips come together. She’s as soft and sweet as Akari dreamed she would be when she dared to dream, and though she’s inexperienced, there’s an eagerness in the way she moves her lips against Akari’s. She  _ has _ wanted this, and that only steels Akari’s resolve.

“I don’t know what more would look like for us,” she admits when she no longer has enough oxygen to kiss Alia. “A queen and a scientist. It’s very unprecedented, I would think.”

Alia laughs and falls back on the grass, dark hair fanning out around her, loose and lovely and smiling so brightly that it steals the very little breath Akari has managed to regain. “It’ll be an interesting experiment, then. One that I very much want to see to the end, no matter what that end is.”

Akari lays down next to her in the grass, and her hand finds Alia’s, their fingers twining together, secure and tight. This isn’t what she expected to have gained from coming to the Ganma world to try to fix their atmosphere, to give them another chance at the life they deserved after how much all of them had suffered. She had come here of her own free will just to help people, to prove that her science was to help people as it always has been.

Not that she’s going to complain.


End file.
